Air strike on Buddhist monastery in Myanmar kills 23 people

An air strike on a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar ‘s central Sagaing region has killed at least 23 people who were taking shelter in the compound.

The overnight attack in Lin Ta Lu village, in Sagaing township, injured about 30 other people, of whom 10 were in a critical condition, according to a member of a resistance group.

The resistance member told The Associated Press that 23 civilians including four children were killed after a jet fighter dropped a bomb at around 1am on a building in the village’s monastery where more than 150 people from nearby villages were taking shelter to avoid fighting in the region.

Myanmar’s independent Democratic Voice of Burma online media reported that the death toll could be as high as 30.

The military did not immediately comment on the incident at the monastery, which is located about 20 miles north west of Mandalay, the country’s second largest city. In the past, the army has said it only attacks legitimate targets of war, accusing the resistance forces of being terrorists.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, triggering a civil war.

After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are embroiled in conflict.

The military has increasingly used air strikes to counter opposition forces, including the armed People’s Defence Forces in Sagaing region, a stronghold of armed resistance. The resistance has no effective defence against air attacks.

The monastery attack comes weeks after hundreds of soldiers took part in an offensive with tanks and various aircraft in an area about three miles from Lin Ta Lu to regain territories controlled by the resistance groups.

Thousands of people from nearby villages were displaced to other towns and villages including Lin Ta Lu, the resistance fighter said.

Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the opposition’s National Unity Government, told the AP that the military regime has been trying to retake areas controlled by the resistance ahead of a planned general election later this year.

The poll is widely seen as an attempt to normalise the military’s seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control.